After implementing a bait-and-switch day one censorship patch for Stellar Blade and then approving refunds due to false advertising, Sony’s censorship policies are once again in full force, this time extending to the artbook for Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon.
We’ve thoroughly discussed Sony’s focus on censoring provocative fanservice or mature content created by Asian developers for primarily heterosexual audiences. Once a Japanese gaming icon, Sony has been vigorously promoting progressive and Western sexualized games on its platform while banning or opposing “problematic” content catering to the “male gaze” made by Japanese developers.
While it may seem coincidental, there’s a noticeable shift in Sony Interactive Entertainment’s approach towards globalism following Kazuo Hirai’s departure in 2012. Under the leadership of Andrew House, the company pivoted away from its roots in Japan, particularly with the launch of the PlayStation 4.
This transition was marked by increased scrutiny of Japanese developers, with demands for censorship of their games on the PlayStation platform, regardless of whether or not such games are appropriately rated for more mature audiences.
While Andrew House left SIE in 2018, his initiatives didn’t go unnoticed. Jim Ryan assumed leadership in 2019 and furthered the shift away from Japan. Notably, he relocated SIE’s headquarters from Japan to California, solidifying the company’s departure from its Japanese roots and signaling a significant change in direction.
After Sony Interactive Entertainment relocated from Japan to America, the company’s control over Eastern developers significantly tightened. They went as far as demanding Japanese developers communicate directly with Sony in English.
Sony’s peculiar censorship policies disproportionately targeted Japanese games, particularly those catering to male demographics. Meanwhile, they permitted and even praised mature games like Life is Strange and The Last of Us Part 2, which featured explicit sex scenes, but because these games were designed by western developers or pandered to LGBT audiences, they were given a pass.
Sony’s stringent censorship demands led to the downfall of Marvelous Entertainment. The development of “Senran Kagura 7EVEN” was effectively halted due to Sony’s insistence on censoring its content, prompting the series creator Kenichiro Takaki to depart from Marvelous. This effectively spelled the end of the franchise in terms of full-scale releases.
Sony’s decline in popularity among dedicated gamers, particularly Japanese consumers, is not without reason. Many have shifted their allegiance to companies like Nintendo or turned exclusively to mobile games.
Sony’s stance on fanservice and risqué content, particularly its selective censorship policies that seem to target Japanese games while allowing mature content from Western studios or catering to queer audiences, has contributed to this shift.
Why support a platform that imposes such restrictions when rivals like the Nintendo Switch offer a more lenient approach to censorship? Sony’s stringent adherence to the Western ESG agenda has led to them throwing fits over game cover artwork, demanding censorship even in this aspect.
After months of anticipation fueled by trailers and teasers, fans were hopeful that Stellar Blade would launch uncensored, especially since the developers explicitly stated that it would be the case across all regions.
However, just before the worldwide release and after the review embargo lifted, a quick patch was issued. This was in response to concerns raised by Americans regarding alleged “racist” graffiti artwork. Unfortunately, these patches prior to the games actual release not only censored the artwork but also altered a number of character outfits.
Sony effectively engaged in a bait-and-switch tactic, leaving eager fans feeling deceived. In response, consumers launched their own viral campaign, resulting in some individuals canceling their PlayStation Plus subscriptions.
While the Stellar Blade debacle has come and gone, the recent actions by Sony indicate a return to their old ways.
The iconic visual novel Tsukihime, originally released for PC in 1999, is finally getting a Western release with its remake. Over the years, Tsukihime has spawned various spin-offs and adaptations, including an animated series and the Melty Blood fighting game series developed by French Bread.
The remake dubbed “Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-” was first announced in 2008 and was finally released in Japan in August 2021. Aniplex of America confirmed in July 2023 that an English localization for the game was in progress.
The remake features a completely rewritten narrative compared to the original, full voice acting, new characters, and updated character designs for the entire cast. However,
A piece of blue glass moon is only the first installment of the remake, covering two of the original five story routes. TYPE-MOON has not yet announced its plans for further Tsukihime Remake entries, regardless the English release for the remake was recently announced for June 27th on Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch systems.
Unfortunately, there’s a slight hiccup with the Sony release. According to the official English Twitter account for the game, the art book will be censored due to “differing platform publishing policies.” This censorship is necessary to ensure the content is compliant with PlayStation’s requirements.
The original Tsukihime visual novel, like many of TYPE-MOON’s releases from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, was known for its explicit content. However, the remake takes a different approach, removing all sexual content. Given this change, one might question the justification for further censorship of the game’s artbook.
It’s almost certain that Tsukihime’s artbook contains suggestive and provocative visuals of female characters, which does not align with Sony’s globalized guidelines and policies. This is despite the fact that Sony permits full frontal nudity in games such as The Last of Us Part 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3.
As a result, the artbook will be modified for the PS4 release of the visual novel, while Nintendo Switch players once again avoid such censorship measures, further proving that Sony are an American company operated by queer clowns.
There has been no mention of whether the visual novel itself will undergo any modifications on PlayStation. However, given that the remake is already a toned-down version of the original, which can be played for free in a web browser, it’s likely that it will launch unmodified.
However, Sony’s decision to impose censorship on the game’s artbook for its physical Western release, while the visual novel itself seemingly avoided scrutiny upon its release in Japan back in 2021, remains unjustified.
Despite Tsukihime being rated for mature audiences, Sony appears to believe that mature gamers cannot handle provocative and “problematic” concept art, purely because its material doesn’t pander towards the queer demographic unlike Sony’s first-party games.
